Symon stood in front of the ornate white doors. Two Vida Guardians held their posts on either side. They were his people. He had many others throughout the Cathedral, fulfilling his backup plan.
He could not bring himself to open the doors. Not yet. Something held him back, but what? The plan was in motion. His reasoning was just. Why was he hesitating?
Suddenly, Symon heard voices coming from behind the door. The voices were quiet, but they made him shudder.
"I'll begin, shall I?" said someone. "Why wasn't this trial resolved at a deposition?"
"I was wondering the same thing," someone answered. "Joe, Naisha? You were present at the depositions. Care to comment?"
"There was just one deposition," said Joe. "And Symon butchered Rin."
"Or she allowed herself to be butchered," said Naisha. "So Symon wouldn't treat her seriously."
"That can't be legal, can it?"
"It's not," said Joe. "However, when the trial is a circus - all you need is to get the applause. Plain and simple. We cannot go out there and call foul play now. Nobody will listen. It's too late."
Symon closed his eyes. Applause. Such a simple plan, yet so powerful. While he relied on the bureaucracy of the Church, on a sure verdict backed by centuries of precedents, his opponents went with simple applause. Brilliant.
He should have foreseen it. Were there other media circuses before? Plenty. The Church had rendered the right decisions regardless and dealt with the public uproar later.
However, now was the perfect storm. The continuing war. The disabled defenses. Sergey Sage. His own historically bad performance at the court...
Rin played him good. He almost admired her for it.
"Also, we were the ones who made this whole thing into a circus," said Naisha from behind the door. "We can't turn around and blame Rin for playing dirty."
"When you say we, you mean the Church as a whole," said Joe, "That's fair. But we all know who in the Church is to blame for this mess. I want to put these knotty old hands on Symon's throat—"
Symon felt a sudden surge of determination. He opened his eyes and knocked on the door. Without waiting for an answer, he entered.
He found himself inside the sacred all-white deliberation room at the head of a long table of arbiters.
"You aren't supposed to be here!" exclaimed Naisha.
"The circumstances are dire, so we have to bend the rules," said Symon.
"The circumstances are dire, alright!" exclaimed Joe, clenched his hands in fists, and stood up angrily. "What the FUCK was that, Symon?"
Everybody in the room looked at Joe in shock. Symon did not show his surprise.
"Look at me," Joe nodded. "Swearing. I haven't said a foul word in seven decades, Symon, but today you gave me a good reason! You're an embarrassment to the Church! This is the most botched, pathetic performance in court I've ever seen! Do you realize what your stubbornness will cost us now?!"
"I can sense the filth in him," Naisha quoted Symon, rubbing her forehead. "You must be, the way youngsters put it, high out of your holy mind."
"We claimed we could do so for centuries," said Symon.
"But never have we tried to demonstrate this ability in front of the whole city!" yelled Joe. "Great! Another white lie went bust! Exactly what we need right now! Have you seen the polls after we left the courtroom? Ninety-two percent are in favor of letting the spawn and his defenders go! Ninety-two!"
YOU ARE READING
Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis
Science FictionThe future is predetermined. It can't be changed. But who casts the future in stone? It's you, me, and every one of us. The iron grip of our fate doesn't come from gods or physics but from us. You are oppressed by your future self to walk the one an...
